A Samurai's Path: Prologue
by Linkonpark100
Summary: This is merely the beginning of a samurai.
1. The Beginning

He opened his eyes as he took in his surroundings. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was a duel. He and his rival were having a fight to decide who was the better of the two. He remembered delivering the finishing blow before everything went black.

Feeling something binding him, he looked down to see bandages wrapped over his chest. Everything that happened began to return to his memory in a flash. Both of them had delivered fatal strikes towards each other.

If he was here, where was his rival then?

"Ah, I see that you are awake."

The young man turned to see a middle-aged man by the door. He didn't have a topknot like many people and let his hair down. To add to his seasoned look, there was a clear sign of facial hair with his moustache.

"You had lost a lot of blood in the forest. So much that you were close to dying," he said. "A good thing that I had stumbled upon you in time. You would have been gone as well."

He looked down at his chest, then back at the older man.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The man frowned. "I saved your life and you still don't trust me? I wonder if the youth were always this ungrateful."

The young man blinked and stammered nervously. "I didn't mean to-"

His rescuer laughed. "I'm just pulling your leg! So cautious."

"I am Bokuden Tsukahara. And you are in my estate."

The young man's eyes widened. This was a legendary swordsman that rescued him!

"You too are a swordsman, are you not?" he asked.

The young man nodded unconsciously, still reeling from the revelation.

Bokuden rubbed his chin as an idea popped into his head. "I want you to meet me downstairs so that I can test your skill."

That request had shook him out of his stupor. He wanted to test him? But where was his sword?

"If you're wondering where your sword is, it's downstairs down at the training area," Bokuden said. "However, we won't be using real swords."

Not using real swords? Then what could they be using?

 **XXX**

Backblades.

He examined the backblade as while it looked like an actual katana, the edge was blunt. The handle was plain like any other regular sword.

"It might be safe, but they're still weapons," Bokuden said. "Might I knowyour name before we get started?"

The young man looked at him. "Kaoru Hisakawa."

"So you're a sword for hire then," Bokuden said. "You're way too young to be wielding a weapon."

"I am of age to wield a weapon," Kaoru said.

"Bah! And you still decide to take up the sword and wander this early?" The old swordmaster scoffed. "Let's see if you're worthy to even be on the battlefield."

With that, Kaoru and Bokuden took their stances and prepared to fight.

Slowly, both combatants closed the distance between them. Once their katanas made contact, the duel had truly begun.

Kaoru had parried the opponent's blade away and tried to aim for the neck. However, Bokuden had quickly blocked the weapon. He delivered and upward slash, causing Jintetsu backed away.

Bokuden quickly spun around and delivered another slash. He began to deliver several strikes, causing Jintetsu to try and block and deflect these attacks. However, Bokuden's speed had overwhelmed him to the point that he had no chance of attacking.

Desperate, Kaoru rolled right behind Bokuden before spinning around with a slash.

However, Bokuden had seen the attack and blocked it. Quickly, the master swordsman delivered an attack of his own with a spinning kick to the stomach.

Kaoru recoiled as he was pushed back. Gasping for air, the young swordsman slowly got up. Bokuden stood still, remaining in his stance.

Regaining his wits, Kaoru lunged towards him. In a flash, Bokuden parried downward and elbowed his opponent in the chest. Sending him tumbling backwards, Bokuden turned around and stabbed right towards him.

Everything went to a halt as time felt as if it were frozen. The blade was inches away from Jintetsu's gut. However, it felt as if the wind had stabbed right into him due to the air pressure put into the attack.

Kaoru froze, stunned from the close attack. It felt as if he was close to being stabbed.

Bokuden stepped back and put down his backblade.

"You have potential, but you definitely need more practice," he said.

"I-I..." Kaoru muttered, trying to step out of his stupor.

"Are you really going to use your skills that are currently at that level? There will be warriors that will be stronger than you," Bokuden asked.

Kaoru thought about it. At this level, he needed to advance further in order to prove his worth as a samurai. But with how he handled himself, he still had a long way to go.

"I have always wanted to be a samurai that wanted to end the tides of chaos," he said as he dropped the backblade. "However, fighting you made me realize that the chaos is a great enemy that I need to really prepare myself for."

With that, Kaoru walked towards Bokuden. The old master raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he was going to do. Dropping to his knees, Kaoru kneeled before him.

"I wish for you to train me," he requested.

Bokuden looked at him with an unreadable expression. For a while, he stared at the young samurai in front of him.

"A lot of of young up-and-coming samurai have requested for me to teach them," he said. "Only a select few have passed through my teachings. What makes you think you are worthy to be my pupil?"

"Since my childhood, I have always desired to grow up to protect the weak," Kaoru replied. "But with so much chaos that has plagued the land, I had finally begun to see the bigger picture. I need to be strong enough to bring peace for those that cannot defend for themselves."

Bokuden's expression did not change. After what felt like an eternity, he finally said something.

"Get up."

Kaoru looked up at the old master.

"Your training begins tomorrow," Bokuden said, causing Kaoru's eyes to widen. "Make sure you get prepared."

With that, he walked out of the room. Kaoru was left alone, thinking if this was the right choice or not. Looking at the backblade on the floor, he nodded.

He knew that this was the right choice.

 **XXX**

The next day, Kaoru sat cross-legged in the training area as he watched Bokuden about to begin his lessons.

"This one whole year will be absolute hell for you," Bokuden stated as if he was giving a choice for Kaoru to back out or not. The youth did not respond, which the old master took as an affirmative. "Nevertheless, If you pass through my trials, I can assure you that my training would be worth it."

With that, Bokuden crossed his arms. "Let us begin!"

 **XXX**

Kaoru was breathing heavily as many opponents had surrounded him. There were also several unconscious enemies on the ground scattered all over the courtyard.

"Your melee doesn't just apply to one opponent. On the battlefield, many enemies will surround you. To be a samurai, one must use their own strength to overcome numbers."

One of them tried to strike at him, but Kaoru parried and smacked his head with a spinning swing. Soon, they began to charge at him. The lone fighter delivered several attacks while dodging the incoming enemies as he fought through the mob.

After all that, all enemies fell to the ground unconscious as Kaoru could be able to breathe again.

 **XXX**

Kaoru ran through the mansion, having been intercepted by other enemies. Once he had escaped them, they had instead made chase towards him. Throughout this entire time, Kaoru's bokken was sheathed.

"Every samurai needs the discipline to show if they are worthy of serving their lord. Punctuality is an important aspect to show loyalty."

Noticing a unit of ninjas diving towards him, Kaoru launched himself and vaulted into a roll further. The ninjas dug their weapons into the ground, missing their target. The target quickly ran to make his escape.

Kaoru ran towards a double door and barged through. There stood Bokuden, who merely nodded.

 **XXX**

Kaoru took his aim of his bow and arrow at several incoming makeshift enemies, who were simply wooden men that moved thanks to contraptions.

"A samurai needs the proper aim to hit the right target. However, it is not just combat they need their vision for. Once must also observe the battlefield from a strategic standpoint. Unfortunately, time is of the essence and you must be quick and swift as much as you need to be accurate."

In an instant, Kaoru unloaded his arrows and fired at the wooden men. Each and every one of them were it in either the torsos or the heads. As he fired, he had wasted no time in putting another arrow by the quiver.

Noticing something heading towards Kaoru by the corner of his eye, he turned to the right and fired at more makeshift enemies. Realizing that the same is happening, he made a 180 degree turn and fired quickly.

Hearing a rustle from behind, Kaoru turned around and aimed. Only to realize that it was Bokuden, who simply smiled.

 **XXX**

Kaoru stood with his sword in his hands while from afar in front of him were a row of archers. Between them was a river gap that looked really deep. There was no bridge whatsoever and even if there was, it would have been far away from them.

"The best defense can also be the strongest offense. Use your sword to strike these projectiles as if they were another obstacle. This technique can turn your enemies into your greatest allies."

Soon, the archers had fired at Kaoru. The target himself waited patiently for the arrows to reach him. Once they were close, Kaoru swiftly swung his sword at the projectiles. The arrows were deflected and aimed back at the archers, who ducked in panic.

 **XXX**

Kaoru was saddled on top of a brown horse, which was galloping around the yard. Many land mines and spear barricades were scattered all over the path. That made the horse go faster as the swordsman encouraged it to go faster.

"A horse is as important as your status when you are part of an army. However, one must also adapt to the speed and style of horse fighting as samurai must master all forms of combat."

Despite how fast the horse went, it managed to stay careful as not to land on any mines. On each barricade, it leapt gracefully and landed with a huge thud yet it's momentum did not stall.

Kaoru noticed that makeshift enemies were in his way. Unsheathing out his bokken, he swung at them. The speed of his horse's acceleration added by the strength of his attack had cut off a limb of each wooden man as it was gruesomely removed by splinter.

Soon, he had reached for the finishing line.

 **XXX**

Kaoru was breathing heavily as he stood in a sword stance. His opponent was a wooden dummy that had additional straw that acted as the head. It would have looked like a scarecrow if it were not for the addition of legs.

"Just because your opponent was struck does not automatically mean that they are dead. The combination of your sword's techniques can overwhelm them in a single line. Create a winning combination that will become your art."

Soon, Kaoru struck the dummy with a flurry of sword attacks. Slashes, slices and strikes soon overwhelmed the object, clear cuts all over it's body. Delivering the finishing blow, the attack had destroyed the dummy indefinitely, smashed to pieces and broken beyond repair.

 **XXX**

Kaoru sat in a cross-legged position once more. In front of him was Bokuden, who sat in the same as well. Both of them stared into each other intensely, both of them observing each other.

It was Bokuden that broke the silence.

"Throughout your training, you have shown great strides as you've improved in all aspects of not just a swordsman, but also a samurai," he said.

Kaoru's expression did not change as he continued to look at his teacher.

"It is with great pleasure to say that you are finally ready."

Now that got a reaction from him. Kaoru's eyes widened slightly before he bowed to his master.

"Before you set off on your journey, which clan will you follow on the path to unification?"

Kaoru looked at his master and contemplated in thought of the question. Just where will he go? Which clan is most worthy to unite the land? There were so many clans in all of Japan that have the potential to rule the country. But there was only one master he needed to pledge his loyalty to.

Taking a deep breath, Kaoru had his answer.

XXX

 **A/N: And the prologue for this series is finished. Now this is where you choose which path you would want him to choose. Here is the list.**

 **-The Tale of the Oda**

 **-The Tale of the Toyotomi**

 **-The Tale of the Tokugawa**

 **-The Tale of the Takeda**

 **-The Tale of the Uesugi**

 **-The Tale of the Hojo**

 **-The Tale of the Imagawa**

 **-The Tale of the Date**

 **-The Tale of the Mōri**

 **-The Tale of the Azai**

 **-The Tale of the Chosokabe**

 **-The Tale of the Shimazu**

 **-The Tale of the Honganji**

 **-The Tale of the Akechi**

 **-The Tale of the Tachibana**

 **-The Tale of the Shogunate**

 **-The Tale of the Saito**

 **-The Tale of the Shibata**

 **-The Tale of the Kuroda**

 **-The Tale of the Sanada**

 **-The Tale of the Daimyo**

 **Just because I will be doing one of them doesn't mean that I'll be holding off the others. It all depends on the comments. Choose well!**

 **On a side note, should I be doing anachronism appearances since Koei is fond of them?**


	2. AN: Legend of the Oda

**A/N: The Legend of the Oda is up and running. Check out my profile page to see it.**


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